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. 2024 Dec 11;13(24):3464.
doi: 10.3390/plants13243464.

Effects of Drought Stress at the Booting Stage on Leaf Physiological Characteristics and Yield of Rice

Xiaolong Yang  1 , Xiuxiu Wang  2 , Yang Li  1 , Lantian Yang  1 , Long Hu  3 , Yuling Han  4 , Benfu Wang  1
Affiliations

Effects of Drought Stress at the Booting Stage on Leaf Physiological Characteristics and Yield of Rice

Xiaolong Yang et al. Plants (Basel). .

Abstract

Drought stress is a major environmental constraint that limits rice (Oryza sativa L.) production worldwide. In this study, we investigated the effects of drought stress at the booting stage on rice leaf physiological characteristics and yield. The results showed that drought stress would lead to a significant decrease in chlorophyll content and photosynthesis in rice leaves, which would affect rice yield. Three different rice varieties were used in this study, namely Hanyou73 (HY73), Huanghuazhan (HHZ), and IRAT109. Under drought stress, the chlorophyll content of all cultivars decreased significantly: 11.1% and 32.2% decreases in chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b in HHZ cultivars, 14.1% and 28.5% decreases in IRAT109 cultivars, and 22.9% and 18.6% decreases in HY73 cultivars, respectively. In addition, drought stress also led to a significant decrease in leaf water potential, a significant increase in antioxidant enzyme activity, and an increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) content, suggesting that rice activated a defense mechanism to cope with drought-induced oxidative stress. This study also found that drought stress significantly reduced the net photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance of rice, which, in turn, affected the yield of rice. Under drought stress, the yield of the HHZ cultivars decreased most significantly, reaching 30.2%, while the yields of IRAT109 and HY73 cultivars decreased by 13.0% and 18.2%, respectively. The analysis of yield composition showed that the number of grains per panicle, seed-setting rate, and 1000-grain weight were the key factors affecting yield formation. A correlation analysis showed that there was a significant positive correlation between yield and net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, chla/chlb ratio, Rubisco activity, and Fv/Fm, but there was a negative correlation with MDA and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ). In summary, the effects of drought stress on rice yield are multifaceted, involving changes in multiple agronomic traits. The results highlight the importance of selecting and nurturing rice varieties with a high drought tolerance, which should have efficient antioxidant systems and high photosynthetic efficiency. Future research should focus on the genetic mechanisms of these physiological responses in order to develop molecular markers to assist in the breeding of drought-tolerant rice varieties.

Keywords: antioxidant enzyme; chlorophyll; drought stress; photosynthesis; rice yield.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Dynamic change in leaf SPAD values after drought stress treatment (day 1 to day 18). The bars represent the standard error (SE), n = 3.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effects of drought stress on leaf water potential (LWP) on day 9 after drought stress treatment. Different letters indicate significant differences between the treatments using Tukey’s test (p < 0.05). Data represent means of n = 3 measurements ± standard deviation.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effects of drought stress on Rubisco, FBPase, and SPSase activities on day 9 after drought stress treatment: (A) ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase; (B) fructose-1,6-diphosphatase; and (C) sucrose phosphate synthase. Different letters indicate significant differences between the treatments using Tukey’s test (p < 0.05). Data represent means of n = 3 measurements ± standard deviation.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effects of drought stress on Fv/Fm, qp, NPQ, and distribution of light energy PR, EX, and AD on day 9 after drought stress treatment. Different letters indicate significant differences between the treatments using Tukey’s test (p < 0.05). (A) Maximum photochemical values of PSII in the dark; (B) photochemical quenching; (C) non-photochemical quenching; (D) photochemical reaction; (E) non-photochemical reaction dissipation; and (F) antenna heat dissipation. Data represent the means of n = 3 measurements ± standard deviation.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Effects of drought stress on net photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance (Gs) on day 9 after drought stress treatment: (A) net photosynthetic rate and (B) stomatal conductance. Different letters indicate significant differences between the treatments using Tukey’s test (p < 0.05). Data represent the means of n = 3 measurements ± standard deviation.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Effects of drought stress on photosynthetic light response curve on day 9 after drought stress treatment.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Principal component analysis of all three cultivars under drought stress at the booting stage. HHZ-CK: flooding irrigation of Huanghuazhan; IRAT109-CK: flooding irrigation of IRAT109; HY73-CK: flooding irrigation of Hanyou73; HHZ-DS: drought stress of Huanghuazhan; IRAT109-DS: drought stress of IRAT109; and HY73-DS: drought stress of Hanyou73.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Correlation analysis among 11 physiological indexes of all three cultivars under drought stress at the booting stage. Pn: net photosynthetic rate; Gs: stomatal conductance; LWP: leaf water potential; Chla/Chlb: ratio of chlorophyll a to chlorophyll b; SPAD: soil–plant analysis development value; MDA: malondialdehyde; Rubisco: ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase; Fv/Fm: maximum photochemical value of PSII in the dark; qP: photochemical quenching; and NPQ: non-photochemical quenching. * p < 0.05.
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